Fire with Fire (Burn for Burn, #2) in Addicted to YA

Jun 11, 2015 alana rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, guilty-pleasures, audiobook

This series is so addictive, and really my rating is more of a guilty 3.5. I think listening to it as an audiobook helps since the three voice actresses do a great job of conveying three very distinct characters' perspective on the plot. Usually, revenge stories aren't my jam...but something about the small town on an island bit and the whole high school drama and the love triangles and the partying...it just works. Um, apparently I missed anything paranormal happening in the first book but figu ...more

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Dec 25, 2013 Sasha rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, poc, paranormal

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Fire With Fire is a convoluted, plot-twist-filled book with plenty of intrigue and guilty pleasure. But more importantly than that, it keeps you guessing until the very end, when authors Han and Vivian pull the proverbial rug out from under you with a slam-bang ending that will leave you wanting more.

When we last left our three main characters, Lillia, Mary, and Kat, they had just carried out their ultimate revenge… or so they thought. Having drugged Reeve, the star quarterback and grade-A jerk Fire With Fire is a convoluted, plot-twist-filled book with plenty of intrigue and guilty pleasure. But more importantly than that, it keeps you guessing until the very end, when authors Han and Vivian pull the proverbial rug out from under you with a slam-bang ending that will leave you wanting more.

When we last left our three main characters, Lillia, Mary, and Kat, they had just carried out their ultimate revenge… or so they thought. Having drugged Reeve, the star quarterback and grade-A jerk who bullied Mary into attempting suicide, with liquid E at Jar Island’s high school prom, they were hoping to get him in trouble or at the very worst, expelled. However, like most revenge plans do, everything goes wrong and people get seriously hurt, especially Reeve. Instead of being vindicated, the three girls are left feeling numb, guilty, and more uncertain than ever of the justice of their actions.

I really liked how the consequences of everyone’s respective actions in Burn for Burn are fully explored in this book, with a few exceptions. I always hate it when books wrap up plotlines too neatly or sweep the problems under the rug altogether. Instead, Fire With Fire handles this deftly, changing points of view between Lillia, the prissy rich girl with more than a few dark secrets of her own; Kat, the badass tough chick with an inner soft side; and Mary, the quiet, fragile girl who turns out to be the most complex character of them all.

This time around, while I felt familiar with each of the characters by this point, I felt like my loyalties were shifting every few chapters as I learned more from their perspective. For example I started out really sympathetic towards Lillia, especially when she suppresses the memory of the horrible night when she was date raped at a fraternity party with her so-called best friend Rennie. However, there were other moments in the book where I just wanted to scream at her, “Are you serious?!” She is a rather vain and shallow girl as well, which I can’t identify with, and for some reason it seems that every male character is slightly in love with her. Even though there is a character called Mary in this book, the true Mary Sue is Lillia. That being said, I do appreciate the slow and gradual disillusionment that Lillia goes through over the course of this book. It is an excellent page to turn for the character and I look forward to watching her grow.

Kat might possibly be my favorite of the three girls. Mary was too obsessive for my liking (for good reason, as is revealed in the book), and Lillia too… privileged, I suppose. But Kat, dear, hardass Kat—she’s awesome, and seemed the most realistic character of the trio. Then again, I always favor the snarky characters. She seems to be the bridge between Lillia and Mary, and the glue holding their revengenda together.

There were some elements of romance, lovelines which twisted and weaved through the plot. The girls’ Nefarious Plot Part II is to get Reeve to fall in love with Lillia (not so hard, since most characters of the male persuasion, including her best friend Alex—on whom Kat has a crush—seems to find her attractive) and then break his heart like he broke Mary’s. But when the predictable happens, and Lillia falls for Reeve, I found myself liking the slow-burn scenes between Lillia and Reeve, but not the actual couple themselves. Basically, I liked the idea of them more than the actual pairing. It definitely distanced me from the story, especially when Lillia’s friend Alex is clearly in love with her and she herself seems to be giving off mixed signals.

In addition, the teenage drama I was kind of over, to be honest. I know that it’s not a high school story without the high school students, but I found Lillia’s troubles with her now-frenemy Rennie to be exhausting and rather boring. I was pleasantly surprised by the book’s end, though, and I think that the next book in the series will shift away from petty high school squabbles into a more dramatic and grander overall tale.

Let’s talk about that ending, though! I was oscillating between three and four stars for the majority of the book, but then I read that ending and BAM. It changed everything, and kind of blew my mind. I was anticipating Mary to have this Carrie-esque storyline, and I was so convinced that I knew that was what it was that I didn’t even see what was right in front of me. So when the Big Reveal happened in the last chapters of the book, I was taken completely by surprise, and everything came together in a way that stunned. Mary is a very important character, suffice it to say, despite flying under the radar for most of the book.

The cliffhanger of an ending was so evil (tell me what happens! Tellmetellme!) but at the same time, I really can’t wait for the next book in the series. Everything just seems to have escalated so quickly that I have no idea how Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian are going to wrap things up. I’m looking forward to reading it, regardless, and highly recommend this book for those of you looking for a guilty-pleasure revenge story with an solid plot and a spectrum of interesting characters.

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Mar 27, 2015 Kristie rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya-lit-realistic

Ok, I did NOT see the twist coming at all! That in itself made me like this book more than the first one. A book that makes my head spin around and makes me want to go back and re-read what I missed before is a really good book (or at least is a good plot). The characters grew on me a lot more in this second installment as well. Guess it's time for a trip to B&N for the last one, Ashes to Ashes. ...more

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Aug 09, 2013 Rachel rated it really liked it

I really don't like Mary at all. Blaming another for what she did to herself.

Lillia is still by favorite character though I felt her changing views of Reeve were very quick.

Kat was great. love the pep talk she gave to Alex. ...more

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